


Tsukishima and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by CobaltCakes001



Series: This Life We Built Together [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), But having Kuroo helps, Canon Compliant, EVERYTHING GOES WRONG, EVERYTHING IS STRESSFUL, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Significant Other, M/M, No Angst, Post-Time Skip, Sleepy Cuddles, Tsukishima Kei-centric, Work is stressful, and Tsukki really ain't having it, because cuddles make everything better, but it's ok, just a little stress, school is stressful, with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:36:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28944543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobaltCakes001/pseuds/CobaltCakes001
Summary: Tsukishima always had a schedule for his busy weeks. It might not be written down on paper but it was an established routine that he was very comfortable with. Despite the routine, it never felt repetitive nor did he tire from the same thing every week. His work schedule was never a consistent one, and practice could range from during the morning or night or both. There was still consistency with his school, work and personal life.Then there were days like these.Or; Everything just seems to go wrong for Tsukki and he just wants it to end in Kuroo's arms. (Disclaimer: Not an AU, unfortunately.)
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Series: This Life We Built Together [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126007
Comments: 5
Kudos: 96





	Tsukishima and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Tsukishima always had a schedule for his busy weeks. It might not be written down on paper but it was an established routine that he was very comfortable with. Despite the routine, it never felt repetitive nor did he tire from the same thing every week. His work schedule was never a consistent one, and practice could range from during the morning or night or both. There was still consistency with his school, work and personal life. 

But days like these, weren’t always avoidable despite having everything planned out. Tsukishima should’ve realized how today was going to pan out from the moment he woke up. Which was late. He didn’t realize he slept past his alarm, which was uncommon, and now he only had half an hour to get to class. Which was a problem since his college was still twenty minutes away by train, never mind running across campus to his class. In any case, Tsukishima rushed out of bed, quickly threw on the first outfit that was available, which was the dino sweater he slept in and Kuroo’s jeans he hadn’t put away yesterday. Thankfully his stuff was packed by the door, but there was no time for breakfast so he grabbed his jacket, bag and ran out the door. 

As soon as he stepped outside realized he should’ve grabbed his scarf and gloves too, it was a lot colder than he realized. At this point Tsukishima put his pride to the side, and was running in hopes of catching the next train to get to school. In hindsight, he should have grabbed a pair of his own pants or a belt, because Kuroo’s jeans were too loose at the top, and short on the leg. The cold air was biting at his ankles, and Tsukishima ran holding one side of them up so they would fall. During his sprint, he didn’t see a patch of ice hidden under the snow, slipped and fell, catching himself on his hands and knees. He didn’t have time to feel embarrassed or assess the damage so he quickly picked himself up and kept running. Thankfully he made it just in time and hopped on the train.

Once he got off at his stop, he made a beeline to school. Once he got to campus, he was pleasantly surprised to see he would make it on time. He slowed his pace to a walk, and made his way to class. Of course the one day he was almost late was the day he only had one class, it ticked him off that he would’ve been potentially late for one class. What a pain. He arrived when the majority of the students were walking in and taking a seat. The prof wasn’t here yet either. Everything is fine, he tried to reassure himself. Tsukishima found a spot at the back and pulled out his laptop and textbook. 

He pilfered through his bag to see if it had any kind of sustenance. Sometimes Kuroo would throw in a protein bar saying, you pack me a lunch, but you never make lunch for yourself. Alas there was nothing, must’ve eaten it last time. Tsukishima decided to check what cheesy good morning text Kuroo had sent him. He reached in his bag to fish out his phone, but it wasn’t there. Frantically, Tsukishima patted his jacket pockets and realized he forgot his phone at home. Tsukishima did a mental check, what the worst case scenario could be, now that he didn’t have his phone with him. He wasn’t going to really need it at work, unless something came up and he needed to be informed but he didn’t really see that happening. The only thing would be not being able to talk to Kuroo until he got home. It would make Kuroo worry uselessly if Tsukishima didn’t respond, but that was the worst case scenario. 

As class began, the prof announced the quiz would be handed out. Tsukishima, looked back up wide eyed. There was a quiz? He definitely didn’t know about this. He pulled up his calendar on his laptop looking to see if he made any note of it but there was nothing about a quiz under today’s date. Tsukishima took a deep breath in, and out. This was fine. He knew the material of this course, there shouldn’t be any curveballs. He stashed his notes away as the quiz was handed to him. 

-

That quiz was a nightmare. Of course it was about the chapter they just covered, which Tsukishima hadn’t gone over in extensive detail. He definitely failed that one. He made a note to check the syllabus to see what percentage quizzes were worth of his grade for that course. He wasn’t going to let it bother him now. It was 12:30 pm, he started his shift at the museum at 1:30 pm. 

Tsukishima figured there was enough time to run into a coffee shop for lunch before catching the train to go to work. He popped into the one closest to campus. It was busy as to be expected at lunch. There were many students, and office workers here for a jolt of caffeine. Once it was his turn to order, he ordered a ham and cheese croissant and a black coffee. He waited to be handed his drink, and then went to go wait for his sandwich. After he got his order, he decided to eat it once he was at work, and put the sandwich in his bag and held his coffee. The coffee burned his hand more than usual, and when he went to switch hands, he noticed that both hands were very red and scraped up. It must have been when he fell on the ice. Tsukishima let out a big sigh, glanced down at his knees to see that there was no blood on his jeans so they can’t be too bad. 

As Tsukishima pushed the exit door, some man talking on his bluetooth earpiece practically trampled him, knocking into Tsukishima. The cup slipped from Tsukishima’s hand, the hot liquid split onto his sweater and the ground. The man barely paid any mind, pausing his conversation on the phone to shoot Tsukishima a nasty look and a watch where you’re going. A worker quickly rushed over with napkins and apologies. Which didn’t make sense to Tsukishima since it should be that asshole apologizing. He declined the free coffee as he needed to get to his job. Didn’t need to be almost late twice today. 

Tsukishima tried his best to wipe off the spill on his sweater. The drink didn’t burn him, as much as it left a big brown stain in the middle of his sweater. He boarded the train again. There were people giving him weird looks, probably because of his disheveled attire. It was busier than before, Tsukishima was being squished between the people. Though taller than most people, he was mostly bumped by short women, stumbling into his back, getting pushed to his front. 

Eventually he made it to his stop and walked to the museum with time to spare. He walked in at 1:17 pm, to his boss, Saito-san, waiting by reception. As soon as she made eye contact with Tsukishima, her facial expression turned into one of anger. She marched her way toward him, heels clicking menacingly. 

“Tsukishima-san, where have you been?” She yells. 

“Um, sorry?” Tsukishima was genuinely confused, not only did his boss rarely yell, she wasn’t usually this confrontational in front of others. 

“You were supposed to start over an hour ago, where have you been?” She explains, crossing her arms. Tsukishima blinked cluelessly at her, he was always very diligent about work. Surely he would know about a schedule change this apparent. 

“I’m sorry Saito-san, I wasn’t aware of this. I was still on campus an hour ago.” Surely she would be forgiving if she understood that he was in class. Why would they schedule him when he was unavailable? Apparently this wasn’t reason enough. In fact his reason seemed to have the opposite effect and her eyes widened. 

“Tsukishima-san, I understand that you’re still in school, but if you have any plans to work here full-time once you’ve graduated, then I expect more from you. We called to inform you of the schedule change, and while you didn’t answer I figured you would’ve gotten the message.” Fellow coworkers were now glancing at the scene as Saito-san’s voice was getting louder. “Once more, you show up late, your group has been waiting for over an hour for the tour to begin and you show up looking like a slob.” Tsukishima wanted to dig himself in a hole and never come out. 

“I am truly sorry Saito-san. I forgot my phone at home his morning, so I didn’t get the message. I will make up for the extra hour by staying later. Again, I am very sorry for the inconvenience I’ve caused.” Tsukishima said, taking a deep bow. He kept bowing until his boss let out a sigh and said, 

“I’m letting you off with a warning. Don’t be late again, and make sure we have some way to contact you if anything comes up. Go change and get to work.” She quickly turned around walking back to her office. 

“Thank you very much. Once again I am sorry.” He quickly made his way over to the change room, to get into his uniform. He realized he had no way of contacting Kuroo to let him know that he would be home later tonight. Which meant he wouldn’t be able to have supper ready for him. Not that was the end of the world, but he knew Kuroo worked hard and long shifts. The least he could do was make him supper to show his appreciation. Tsukishima took a deep breath in and out. Everything was going to be fine. While he was changing he noticed his knees had the beginnings of bruises growing. Painful purples and greens could be seen already, he could only imagine what they would look like later. He tried not to think about it, and finished changing to go meet his group. 

-

Tsukishima was on break when he realized how hungry he was. He completely forgot about his sandwich. In between getting chewed out by his boss and being ‘late’, he didn’t have time to eat. He pulled out the paper bag, only to find the sandwich squished. Well that wasn’t the end of the world, it must’ve been because of the crowded train. The sandwich didn’t taste at all good, considering it had ham and cheese and had been sitting in his backpack since 12:30. He threw out the toppings and opted just to eat the croissant plain. At least it was something. 

He glanced at the time, and thought about how he still had four more hours of this painful shift. He just wanted to take a bath and go to bed in Kuroo’s arms, and maybe get a little more food in his system. At least tomorrow was Saturday, which meant no classes. He had an afternoon shift, but at least he could sleep in. He took another deep breath. It felt like there was no end in sight to today. 

-

Finally, it was time to go home. Staying the extra hour really took its toll on Tsukishima. He had the beginnings of a headache from all the visitors, and the lack of food and water were probably not helping. It was late, 9:30 pm, he figured he was the only one here besides security. Only to be surprised when, Saito walked in. 

“Thank you for your hard work today.” They both said bowing. 

“I came to actually apologize to you, Tsukishima-san. It had just been a rough morning and the other person who was supposed to do the tour actually called in. So you were our only hope, and I went a little overboard, I am sorry.” Saito said bowing once again. Well it still didn’t feel good to be yelled at by his boss in front of his coworkers and visitors, the apology was appreciated. 

“There’s no need Saito-san, I do apologize again for being late, I’ll have my phone on me next time. This won’t happen again.” 

“Hopefully not, I was actually looking to speak to you before you left.” She said. Her posture was relaxed, Tsukishima definitely wasn’t being let go, and he wasn’t going to get another scolding… 

“Of course, what did you want to talk about, Saito-san?” 

“Well you see, the person who called in this morning, has a morning shift tomorrow that they also cannot come in for. I was wondering if you would be available to work 9 am to 8 pm tomorrow? You’re the best we have, and you’re already working, so if you wouldn’t mind coming in earlier.” She looked expectantly at Tsukishima. Well, there was a difference between a 1 pm to 8 pm shift, and a 9 am to 8 pm shift. “If you’re able to come in early tomorrow, today’s… mishap will be overlooked, and I’ll let it go completely.” 

Coming to apologize, my ass. She just wanted Tsukishima to work longer tomorrow, she was still upset about today. Oh Tsukishima loathed that. He knew he had to say yes. The way she was wording the situation, it wasn’t like she was giving him much of an option. At this point he just wanted to change and go home, so he was willing to agree just to end this miserable situation. 

“Yes, I am able to come in early.” Tsukishima replied, bowing. 

“Wonderful! Thank you so much, Tsukishima-san. I’ll see you on Monday, have a good weekend” She threw over shoulder, and walked out of Tsukishima’s office. He mumbled a you too, and collapsed back in his chair. Like today couldn’t get any worse. 

-

When Tsukishima arrived at the apartment, he looked in his bag for his keys. Not there. He patted his pockets. Empty. Huh, almost deja vu. He leaned forward and banged his head on the door. How could he be so close to ending today, yet so far. He stood up straight, and knocked on the door hoping Kuroo was home, or awake at the least. He didn’t wait long before he heard footsteps on the other side. Kuroo opened the door slowly, to see who was there, then swung it open the rest of the way realizing who was on the other side. 

“Kei? I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Are you-”Tsukishima cut off the questions by walking forward into the apartment. Kuroo stepped back to let him in, and closed the door behind him. It was then that Tsukishima realized that Kuroo could get the full picture. He probably looked like hell. Red ears, cheeks and ankles from the frigid air outside, a big coffee stain on his dino sweater he wore to bed, jeans that kept falling down and scraped raw hands from the fall. Tsukishima knew Kuroo’s first reaction would be to pull him into a hug, but he waited. “What number are you at?” 

Tsukishima had put in place a system that is yet to fail them. Whenever he’s having a particularly bad day, or mood, there are only three ways to go about talking to him. One: No talking to him, just give him his space. Tsukishima had a bad habit of trying to work things out himself instead of relying on other people. Kuroo didn’t like this way, but still respected his space, and was always going to be there when Tsukishima was ready to talk. Two: Talking was fine, but he needed his space. He just needed to vent and let it out, while still maintaining personal space. Three: No talking but physical affection is required. Oftentimes, Tsukishima chose this option because he just needed some grounding support, no words. He tried his best to rely on Kuroo in some way, since Kuroo had said multiple occasions to do so. 

“Three…” Tsukishima glanced at the ground, as he shucked off his backpack. Kuroo stepped forward and gently took his hands, caressing the backs of Tsukishima’s hands with his thumbs. 

“This okay?” He asked hesitantly. Tsukishima wanted to cry. He’d been holding back all day, but it was Kuroo’s gentle touch that made him break. He felt the tears start to pool behind his glasses, as his vision blurred, and they slowly trailed down his face. Kuroo brought one of his hands to swipe at the tears before they fell. Tsukishima brought his free hand to rub his eye, his breath stuttered, and a few tears turned into water works. He hated crying, especially in front of Kuroo. Tsukishima reached out and wrapped his arms around Kuroo’s neck and buried his face in his shoulder and just bawled. Kuroo was quick to wrap strong arms around him, rubbing his back in a comforting motion. 

Eventually, after what seemed like hours of tears, he calmed down a bit. Tsukishima was just a sniffling mess. He was just a mess in general. Kuroo leaned down to press a few kisses to his head. Carefully, Kuroo slipped his hands down, and picked Tsukishima up, holding him underneath his knees. He walked to the bedroom and placed Tsukishima on the edge of the bed. Kuroo went to let go but Tsukishima just clung tighter to his neck. 

“Baby, I’ll be right back. I’m just going to get the bath running okay? A bath will make you feel better and help you de-stress. I promise, I’ll be right back.” Kuroo whispered, rubbing Tsukishima’s sides. Tsukishima was reluctant to let go, but he knew a bath would help. It’s all he’d been thinking about. Bath. Food. Kuroo. He untangled himself from Kuroo, who bent down to place a kiss on his forehead. Kuroo left for the bathroom and Tsukishima fell backward on the bed. He closed his eyes, maybe he could skip the food and bath and go to sleep now. 

Just as Tsukishima felt himself drifting, he was being picked up again and brought to the bathroom. He was placed on the edge of the tub, he opened his eyes, just to see golden ones staring back. 

“I promise you can sleep after, but first a bath and some food. It looks like you haven’t eaten all day. I’m going to reheat supper, for once you’re done with your bath. Okay?” Kuroo asked, caressing Tsukishima’s cheek. Tsukishima hummed in agreement, and Kuroo rubbed his hand all the way down his arm, only to hold his hand and give it a small squeeze. Nothing to hurt the scrapes. Kuroo left Tsukishima to bathe, and went to heat up dinner. 

Tsukishima stood up and took off his glasses, undressed, throwing his clothes into the hamper to be washed. He turned back toward the tub, only to realize Kuroo had added one of Tsukishima’s bath bombs. He almost wanted to cry all over again. The care was a harsh contrast to the nothing but trouble and stress he went through today. He climbed in and nearly felt the stress melt off his shoulders. It was a lavender bath bomb, and the scent was very soothing. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, trying his best not to think about today. 

Kuroo came in twenty minutes later with clothes, walked over to the bath. Tsukishima was still laying with his head back and knees up, since he was too tall to lay completely straight. He opened his eyes to see Kuroo kneeling beside the tub looking at his knees. Before Kuroo could ask, Tsukishima thought it best to speak up. 

“I slipped on ice this morning when I was running to catch the train.” Kuroo brought a hand to rub over one of his knees, lifting the water to let in splash over it. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on both of Tsukishima’s knees. “They’re not as bad as they look.” He tried to reassure, but Tsukishima knew they would be even more colourful in the morning. 

“Well we have cream to help with bruising, I’ll put some on after you get out.” Kuroo stood up and went to grab a towel. “C’mon, you’ll catch a cold and turn into a prune if you stay in there any longer.” Kuroo teased a small smile on his face. Tsukishima offered a small smile in return, and got out of the bath. Kuroo wrapped the towel around his body. As soon as he was covered, Tsukishima wrapped his arms around Kuroo, who was caught a little off guard, but reciprocated and placed his arms around Tsukishima’s shoulders.

“I had a really shitty day.” Tsukishima managed to mumble out in Kuroo’s neck. Kuroo can’t help but let out a laugh at that. He rubs soothing circles on Tsukishima’s back.

“Please, do tell.” 

So Tsukishima does. Does so without crying too. He tells Kuroo how he was late and forgot his phone, and was unprepared for a quiz he wasn’t aware of. Had some jackass spill his coffee on him, get yelled at by his boss in front of everyone and that he picked up more hours for tomorrow. After having time to recover, it felt even better letting it all out. Like he was completely free of stress.

At this point they were both in bed, after eating the heated up leftovers of supper. Tsukishima was swaddled in Kuroo’s sweater, grey sweatpants and his green fuzzy dino socks. Kuroo was lying on his back, arms wrapped protectively around Tsukishima who was lying on top of him, face tucked in Kuroo’s neck. 

“If you didn’t like that museum as much as you did, I would go there and show your boss a piece of my mind. As if she would yell at you in front of everyone, that’s so unprofessional.” Kuroo huffed. “Like if she really had a problem, she should’ve called you to the side and talked to you like a human being. AND, she shouldn’t have guilty tripped you into picking up more hours tomorrow.” Despite himself, Tsukishima let out a breathy laugh. He knew Kuroo was only trying to make him feel better, but it was working. Finally being in Kuroo’s arms was making Tsukishima feel ten times better. 

“Thank you Tetsu, I really appreciate everything you do for me.” Tsukishima whispered. There was more he could say, but he was always very awkward verbally expressing his feelings. He leaned up and pressed a kiss to Kuroo’s cheek. He hoped Kuroo understood how much he meant to Tsukishima. 

“Of course Moonshine, anything for you. I mean anything. Really, I can go down to the museum and tell Saito to-” Tsukishima couldn’t hold back his giggles. He could think about how silly Kuroo would look, walking into the museum wearing his usual suit, and asking to speak to Tsukishima’s boss. Then Saito wondering what the hell this man with crazy hair from the JVA wants. The whole thing would be ridiculous. “What’s got you giggling? I’m dead serious Kei. If they think they can yell at my baby and-” Tsukishima cut him off, with a kiss, which Kuroo quickly melted into. It was soft and Tsukishima tried to express the gratitude he felt. When they broke apart, Tsukishima leaned his forehead on Kuroo’s. 

“I mean it Tetsu, thank you. I love you” He whispered, lips brushing on Kuroo’s. Kuroo gave Tsukishima an eskimo kiss, and brought his lips up to place a kiss on Tsukishima’s forehead. 

“I love you too. Always feel like you can rely on me for anything okay?” Tsukishima nodded his head. Kuroo flipped them on their sides and brought Tsukishima’s back to his chest, wrapping his arms securely around Tsukishima. Tsukishima brought his arms to wrap around Kuroo’s, and he felt the press of lips on the back of his neck. 

Despite having a day in hell, and working a longer shift tomorrow, Tsukishima can count on the one thing that will stay the same in his routine. Coming home and going to bed with the love of his life, and that is something that would remain a constant.

**Author's Note:**

> I promise I did not enjoy putting Tsukki through hell. At least he has Kuroo ♡ Thank you for reading! Tell me what you thought! (⌒▽⌒)♡


End file.
